Manic Depressive: Unbreakable
by Cliffhanger
Summary: Two Towers sequel to Manic Depressive. Betrayal with a hilarious twist, the Cliffhanger's quest for the Ring continues in Rohan, as an old friend struggles to return to her side... with hilarious instances. Chapter 3 finally up! R&R please!
1. Introduction Disasters

Title: **Manic Depressive: Unbreakable**

Plot: The Fellowship has broken, and the Ring is on its way to Mordor, without the Cliffhanger. So the threat is true… Shea and the hobbits are in more danger that they thought. The Cliffhanger, on the other hand, has chosen a rocky path to follow with the other members of the Fellowship; her motive is to save Merry and Pippin who have been captured by the Uruk-Hai. But this path… leads to greater danger, and they shall meddle with the affairs of Kingdoms and the fate of Middle Earth. Will Cleff be able to bring balance to Middle earth on her own? Or will she need the helping hand of a lost soul, somewhere in the wilderness to complete the writings of the One Ring's story?

What To Expect: The title is so, because this sequel explains the mystery of the two Cliffhangers. Why would Gandalf choose two, when one is meant to betray the other? Is there any hope left in Ash? In this sequel, you would uncover why a friendship would be Unbreakable… even if destiny, barriers and evil separate two people. This theory is true for Frodo and Cleff, for the Cliffhanger does keep her promises. And as for Ash… her will, shall be shaken, and she will be forced to make one choice… that would affect the course of history. Watch out for this turning point.

Warning: Dozens and dozens of freakin' spoilers. Actually, you can find some if you scroll up. ^-^;;

Disclaimer: Tolkien still didn't allow me to mate Sam and Frodo. After all, you've got a love triangle, since Shea's coming along. Kidding. Find out for yourself. ^_- 


	2. Chapter 1: Grudge of Angmar

Chapter 1: Grudge Of Angmar 

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With day rising as bleak as the night, Isengard was greeted by a screeches far across the plain. Orcs and Goblins working beneath the tower of Orthanc raised their heads in jeopardy. After the massive slaughter the Living Wraith has caused upon their kind when it last visited the White Hand, they have stood out of its way in fear and anger of its tyranny. After all, this Wraith does not rule Isengard, the White Hand does.

The sun rises darkly, hidden by the smokes and fumes coming out of Isengard. Saruman's minions were not to be disturbed. They need not to make haste with their war coming upon Middle Earth. 

Then they came. Nine riders adorned in black, carrying another one, binded and gagged, tied upon its own steed, dragged upon the wasteland. Goblins stood out of their way, as their steed brutally thundered their hooves into Isengard, nine thick metal-clamped boots thumping down the cursed rock ground of Isengard as they dismounted their steeds. Hardly do Saruman's minions notice their captive, slightly smaller than them, but also adorned and suited by the dark uniform they all have from cloak, to gauntlet, to boot. Its face was almost visible, but not visible enough to the naked eye.

This captive was never identified outside Orthanc… as it was dragged mercilessly into the dark tower.

Saruman was seated upon his throne, his face hidden by a large mirror. The Palantir crackled with fire inside it nearby, sitting on an elevated rock platform. Silence entombed the White Wizard's chamber, until angry screeches and clanking metal boots echoed throughout the entire tower, signaling their arrival. The Nine Wraiths have arrived. They haven't visited Orthanc since several months ago, when Sauron sent them there for Saruman to spank everyone them for losing the Ringbearer. Well… Saruman had worse punishment plans than spanking them all with his staff… (Bozo the clown, anyone?)

Annoyed, having been disturbed from brooding over his reflection, the evil Istari pulled down the mirror that was hiding his face… and alas, to each Nazgul's horror… there sat Saruman, with pink pigtails on his bleached perfect white hair. "How do you like my new look?"  

If only they weren't invisible, you could have seen each Nazgul wrinkle their noses in disgust and fear. "Is pink the 'in' thing today?" A small voice very familiar to Saruman sounded from behind the cluster of Wraiths. Each Nazgul's murmur subsiding, the Witch King identified as the tall Nazgul with his head topped off with a princely crown, stepped forward. It was back to business.

"_Saruman._" The Witchking started talking in screeches, as if his voice was taped and scratched. "_Your little wench_," He threw the smallest Nazgul on the floor in front of the wizard (still bizarre in his pigtails, each side of his head uneven), binded up and gagged. "_Was found spying across the beach of Palen Garth, near Amon Hen…_" To Saruman's surprise, and shock… the binded up Nazgul lost its invisibility.

In its place inside the hood, revealed the pale face of Ash. The last hope of Middle Earth.

She gritted her teeth in anger that she was caught spying over Cliffhanger and the Ringbearer getting mushy on the shore of Palen Garth… She was close to hobbit-napping Frodo Baggins and bringing him to Isengard as planned, when the Witchking appeared and became all wonky and possessive. This ended up in a disagreement, and to Ash's disappointment, the Ringbearer was left unharmed, and she was the one captive, brought to Orthanc. 

"_I thought you ordered this hopeless disaster to aid that other wench of yours in Rohan?_" The Witchking mocked, pinching Ash's jaw painfully with his gauntleted hand, bruising her cheeks. Saruman couldn't answer… Ash couldn't look at him either. Maybe she was guilty, she didn't want to let the Ringbearer get to Mordor and destroy the One Ring… or she wanted to see her old friend Cleff again… But Ash still can't look at the wizard who turned her into a Nazgul. Saruman's pigtails would dismantle her immortality as a Nazgul, and make her vomit out her heart and guts on the floor, dying on the spot.

Saruman's eyes narrowed down at Ash. The girl couldn't look straight at him in the eye, and a few of the dratted Nazguls have burst out in silent laughter behind the cluster of Wraiths. Little do they know, that the Wizard has cast a spell on them, and their invisible heads inside their hoods have started to shrink.

"I have ordered her to go to Rohan," the angry wizard's voice rose, and rattled the tower. "But still she disobeys me." Ash tore her eyes away from Saruman angrily. It was too angry, too burning and too evil. She swore that she was in deep trouble. 

"I wanted to capture the Ringbearer," she whispered, but the Witchking angrily placed the tip of the boot on her head, slamming her face down on the floor, trying to silence her. "_And tried to make a fool out of yourself? You can't do anything, Living Wraith… you're a natural show-off._" Ash glared upwards at the Witchking, hardly seeing his face, as her eyes turned from green to red. Her face was close to disappearing again, but she felt almost all her power leave her… she was slowly losing strength.

"_She is incompetent, insubordinate, completely useless. What kind of Istari are you, Saruman? Can't you choose the best Wraith to transform for our Lord? This one has brought nothing but incompetence…" _Ash hated the Witch King. He always seemed to be jealous, angry and evil to her. He begged Sauron not to add any more minions to his line of high-ranking Nazguls, save Ash who was disastrous enough.

"I didn't choose to be a Nazgul in the first pla-" Ash started, but the boot slammed her head down the cold floor again, her temples aching. "Do not underestimate my capabilities," Saruman thundered, his nostrils flaring. "Witch King of Angmar." 

Ash could hardly see it, but the Nazgul smirked behind his hood. "_May it be as you wish, Saruman,_" the voice beneath the hood screeched painfully in Ash's ears. "_But don't let Lord Sauron consider you incompetent as well._" 

Fire rose in Saruman's eyes, as suddenly, something snapped. Saruman's pigtails fell to the ground, and his hair was billowing behind him, evilly. It was not a good sight to look at, especially when his nostrils were flaring and his eyes were ten times magnetized as Frodo's creepy bulging blue eyes. "Fine then," The wizard roared. 

He stomped down the steps to his throne, and loomed over Ash. The girl cowered in fear, as the Nazgul Witch King removed his boot from her aching temples. Next thing Ash knew, Saruman's long sharp fingernails were hovering above Ash's head, about to kill her. Invisibly, the Witch King watched in satisfaction, licking his lips. The girl cowered, she was about to die…

Saruman growled, and snatched the hood off Ash's head, with the rest of her Nazgul cloak removed. (This cloak was the tool that transformed her into a Nazgul, if you could remember.) She was completely visible now, with only her nazgul armor and inner black cloak left to cover her body.

Saruman still loomed over her angrily, looking like a white ghost silouhetted against the black room of the chamber. "I banish you from Isengard, once and for all." The wizard spoke.

The Witchking stood aghast. _Banished?_ Ash felt like screaming out loud. _After all I've worked hard for as a Wraith, I am banished?!!_ Her fear subsided, but anger remained like a cradled small child in her heart. As for the Witch King, his anger for the Living Wraith wanted him to kill her. But he had Saruman to do that for him, since the Living Wraith isn't in his command. His disappointment was great, and his scream of terror echoed throughout Isengard, fearing the lives of many Goblins working beneath Orthanc.

Saruman felt as if a burden from his back was removed. His burning stare retreated from Ash, and onto the Witch King. "Do what you want with her," He started, as hope of death returned into the Nazgul's mind. "But she will not be killed."

Ash felt small hope lay in Saruman. But he was twisted as ever, having her left with these evil Wraiths.

The Witch King was disappointed. With another heart thundering screech, he had Ash dragged out of Isengard, the child not even hesitant to look back at her former master.

***

_Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeecccccccchhhhhh!!!_

Ash had to cover her ears as the Witch King gave orders to the eight Wraiths in the Black Tounge, which she can hardly understand anymore, with her Nazgul powers diminishing slightly. She was dropped down the ground harshly, as they faced the bleak morning sky of Isengard. She felt the anger and disappointment of the Witch King, and her instincts warn her that he might take her down right here, right now.

Suddenly, just when she was done thinking, two black dragons appeared in the sky, screeching in the same way the Nazguls do, as both creatures settled down in front of the Wraith cluster. Two Nazguls approached her, and grabbed her by the arm, as they went towards the dragons. _What, are they going to feed me to these?!!_ Ash thought madly.

"Hey Witchking!!!" Ash screamed against the grunting and screeching of the newcomers. "What 's with these filthy scales?!!" The crowned Nazgul looked in her direction blankly, feeling how much he despised her through that invisible hood. "_Just a promotion from Sauron, little wench."_

Ash felt her hopes tumble down past her metal boots. "_As for you, you're expelled._"


	3. Chapter 2: Misty Mornings

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_A/N: Trying to pull a chapter out of my sleeve, since writer's block is eating me up again. I've got two more fics under my sleeve, and this is my third. Woah… If I could only learn how to juggle…_

_Cleff & Ash: Don't even count on it._

Chapter 2: Misty Mornings 

He stood there, his mind blurry and unread. On top of a ruinous structure, in the middle of a battlefield, he waited. His eyes were misty, his heart was clouded with fear, greed, and the evil will of Sauron. He stood on a ledge, as a battle ensued beneath him. But he hears nothing, and sees nothing. His eyes were focused on a precious object throbbing in his hand… its will breaking into his innocent mind.

_The Ring._

_Suddenly, the sound of thrashing wings and grinding stone overcame his ears. The Ring began to throb uneasily inside his palm as he touched it delicately with his fingers… the temptation to put it on and consume him cannot be undone… He dares not to look up, even if fright was already there to consume him. A part of him wants to run, but another wants to turn himself in to the liege of Mordor._

_Suddenly, a shadow loomed over Frodo._

_Fear has overtaken his soul, as he dares to look up… coming face to face with a hideous scaly creature, with an armed rider completely adorned in threatening black… a Black Rider!!! In complete fear, Frodo tries to slip on the ring, his conscience debating with himself, his face twisted in pain and anger. He must disappear. And turn himself in. _

_The voices in his head began to roar, as he felt the cold insides of the ring touch his finger… he was about to give into malice… when a cold, gauntleted hand pulled him back. He looked up in fear and shock, when another threatening Ringwraith stood behind him, a firm grip on his hand holding the Ring. The Wraith sitting on the scaly creature laughed hard, in complete victory, as the hobbit felt himself shrink. _

_"Well done, old friend," a familiar screeching voice came from the Wraith sitting on the creature. "Well done." _

_Frodo felt anguish and shock rise inside him, as the Ringwraith held him, pull its hood down and reveal the truth he so feared to happen. Inside the Wraith's hood was a pale face, twisted with anger and revenge, no longer the face that gave him hope and freedom. Just as Frodo Baggins feared it the most, Cleff has became a wraith, according to her traitorous friend's will._

_Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!_

***

Cold water trickled down his face, as Frodo Baggins awakes. It seems to him, that Sam and Shea who were standing guard beside him as he slept, has broken into a fit, and were splashing water all over him. Well, things weren't that exaggerated, and the cold water only came from the cold compress Shea was applying over his face. In wonder, as he opened his eyes, he looked at the girl and said, "Wha- what happened?"

Sam and Shea could only exchange glances. "You seem to be having a fever, Mr. Frodo," Sam spoke out bashly, putting a hand on his master's shoulder. "You were thrashing and squirming in your sleep." 

"And your temperature is rising," Shea added, still dabbing a wet cloth all over Frodo's face. The girl's face has gotten a bit of a tan after walking wordlessly in the sun, around the bleak hills near Mordor. The trio was having a hard time, since Sam and Shea would suddenly bicker at each other moment after moment. This gave Frodo a headache that would hopelessly trigger into a slight fever. But his dream wasn't a product of hallucination. It came to him more like a warning.

"Is there something wrong, Mr. Frodo?" Sam must have been reading Frodo's mind.

Frodo plainly shook his head and kept the dream to himself. He didn't want anyone else involved with his fears.

***

Day 51 

_On the road with what's left with the Fellowship. Gimli and Legolas fought on who's going to stay awake and be on guard, but both knocked each other asleep anyway. Since elves have a weird way of sleeping with eyes open, Zephyr made squiggly markings with tree sap on the elf's face. This served her a good bow spanking when Legolas had awaken. As for me… I'd stay awake. For I can't sleep, thinking._

Cleff snorted and tore the top off the back page of the Book of The One Ring, which served as her temporary diary. It was already morning, as she sits on a boulder overlooking the fields. Black circles were around her eyes as she seemed to be deep in thought all night. Annoyed, she crumpled the piece of paper in her hand and threw it around in a cluster of crumpled parchments around a tree. "Why on Middle Earth there is no garbage disposal?" Cleff growled. "I can't practice my basketball skills…"

She glared at the rising sun miserably. _Something tells me I have made the wrong decision. Maybe I should have gone to Mordor,_ Cleff thought. But she knew, the story would never unfold, if Frodo had too many companions in Mordor. After all, them hobbits were too easily slipped into the dark land because of their speed and size, with them children growing up and showing much dominance and image, it would be harder for them not to be unnoticed and slip past clusters of orc armies in Mordor. At one point, Shea would be in big trouble, the Cliffhanger noted to herself.

Cleff slapped her forehead in misery. _I shouldn't have let her go then… I should have been there!_ The girl felt like strangling herself, flinging the book angrily down the ground, about to throw a fit… when a sudden rustle in the bushes stopped Cleff in her tracks.

Two small beady violet eyes peered from the bush, as Cleff crossed her arms and glared at it. "Zephyr, stop spying on me and get out of those leaf tangles." Zephyr emerged from the bushes, scratching herself slightly, muttering "Been wonderin' if you're losing your mind. You must be reading something insane from that book. What have you been reading? Saruman's love letters to Sauron?"

Cleff couldn't say anything. Halfway flabber-gasted, the two girls greeted each other with a hearty laugh, as in a joking mood, they tried to strangle each other. However, Zephyr's scratching sickness was transferred over Cleff, and they were both scratching their arms like crazy. "Is this some sort of poison ivy, or something?" Cleff growled irratatedly. "I dunno, all I know its contagious!!!" Zephyr groaned.

They were halfway tearing their skins apart, when a splitting roar tore in the air. "Zephyyyyyyyr!!!" Legolas cried out angrily, after feeling the sap marks on his face. 

"You made Legolas start a new fashion statement." Cleff mustered nervously. "All I know is that fashion statement is going to be the death of me and this irritation, we have no choice but to run!!!" Both girls were pursued by an angry elf, right into the fields, with a groggy Aragorn and Gimli lagging behind.

And that is how the chase to Rohan started.


	4. Chapter 3: To Tame A Schitzophrenic

**Chapter 3: To Tame A Schizophrenic**

"Yeuch! This Mordor weather is tearing at my skin!"

"Are good for nothing, but bickering? And we're not yet in Mordor, we're still stuck at Emyn Muil," Samwise Gamgee Blasted out.

"Me? A good for nothing?!! How dare you say that, you spineless hobbit!" Shea screamed back, making Sam wrinkle his nose in disagreement. "Our delay is due to that heavy load of useless silverware you're lagging behind your back, Master Gamgee! It is to your disadvantage that we're still miles away from that dratted country of darkness!"

Frodo merely rolled his eyes at this endless bickering he has been listening to for the entire day of walking around the cliffs of Emyn Muil. This was probably the hundredth time he considered that bringing Shea along with Sam was completely a bad idea. He was never going to destroy the Ring with two people who cannot stop arguing at his back. But he just decided to quiet down and push his worries away... despite this heavy load he his carrying around his neck...

Somehow, his quest to destroy the Ring lingered completely in his mind, and plugged out the chattering noise of Sam and Shea's argument behind him. Inspecting a cliff and the flat, but rocky land beneath it, he began to climb down, starting with a swing of his legs over the brink... without his companions noticing.

"... You and your fat and stupid bones are becoming a disturbance to this quest, Samwise Gamgee! You better have drowned in Amon Hen rather than becoming a great nuisance to Master Baggins!" Shea exclaimed, crossing her arms with her chin tilted upwards in a snotty salute.

"Well, at least these bones I could trust," Sam answered as-a-matter-of-factly. "As the Gaffer would tell me not to trust hobbit-lasses who have mouths for chatter but no brains to save their skins. You don't look like a hobbit-lass to me," he snorted as he eyed Shea. "But you can pass in that category." The punch line hit the girl hard below the belt.

Stretching out her claws and baring her teeth like an enraged hound, Shea tried to lunge at the hobbit, who ducked and halted when he reached the cliff's edge. "Wait a minute," he gasped. "Where is Mister Frodo?!!"

Shea was stumped. She looked around and saw that the Ringbearer was nowhere to be found. "Oh my valars," she exclaimed in a very annoying British Accent. "Where art thou the one I vowed to protect?" No answer. "Dammit, where did that angsty hobbit go?!!" Sam shot her a sharp look and snapped back, "Now Mister Frodo's lost all because of you and your nonsense!!!"

Shea was steaming red by this moment. She was about to snap back at Sam in a more gruesome manner, when a scream pierced the wind that shut both of their meat-traps from snapping at each other.

"Will you two stop this nonsense and help me climb back onto that surface?!" It was Frodo. He was standing on the wall of the cliff on a piece of rock jagged on its surface, and he couldn't see because of the raging wind. His hands were clawing at the ground where his two companions were standing, but none of them could notice due to their childish nonsense.

Sam quickly fumbled for his master's hands, trying to pull him back on the top, but both lost footing, and fell on the side of the wall. "Darn it!" Shea screamed, as she took hold of Sam's backpack – all that was left of him. Fumbling in it, she got hold of the elvish rope Galadriel gave him, and unraveled it so both hobbits can take hold of it.

"Take the end, Sam!" Frodo screamed against the cold, harsh wind hitting the cliff. "Shea! Tie it to that stump to the tree next to you! Then climb down!" He called out. Turning to Sam beside him, who has gotten a tight grip on the rope, he said, "We are all going to climb down this cliff to the rocky valley beneath us. From there, we can turn west towards Mordor."

When the instructions are clear, a snarling Shea threw the pack to Sam, who slung it over his shoulder, and everyone began to climb down, battling the wind.

"Here goes nothing," Shea muttered wistfully. "I hope our rope climbing exercises would pay off... or this would be the death of me and my destiny." Sam sneered up at her, unnoticed, as he supported a squinting Frodo down the cliff.

Finally, after a few slippings and foot sores, they reached the bottom of the cliff and the opening of the valley. Shea lost footing and slumped to the ground, pulling the rest of elvish rope down with her. "Goodness sake's!" Frodo exclaimed, eyeing the pile of rope sprawled over Shea and Sam. "And to think I trusted all of your weight to your slippery knot!" He gasped at Shea. "I am a knot expert, if you would know," Shea whispered amidst her breathing. "And this was one of my hardest ones!"

Sam was frowning slightly, but he muttered slowly, "I don't believe it's the knot, Master," he said as he got up. "It has to be its elvencraft."

Relieved, Frodo's blue eyes shone with sudden heaviness, as he saw from afar – the Eye of Sauron. "At least we did not leave a little stair for Gollum to climb upon. Come on, the journey is getting rougher as I expect."

Middle of the day came, but still they were at the edge of Emyn Muil. Sulking, sweating and hopeless, the three companions lumbered around the heat and the cold, looking for a way out. Finally, a weary Sam and Shea slumped down a boulder, as the former explored the surroundings and frowned. "This looks strangely familiar."

Frodo didn't look happy at all. "Because we've been here before!" he exclaimed exasperatedly. He drew his elvish cloak much tighter around him and sighed. "Were going in circles."

Changing the subject, Sam stood up and said, "Ah! What's that horrid stink? I'll warrant there's a nasty bog nearby." He turns to Shea, who was already sprawled on the boulder, all by herself. "Can you smell it?" Sam asked. She nodded...

"Yes, I can smell it too." Frodo whispered, as he turned around, a curious but wary gleam in his eye. "We're not alone."

Shea stood at bay that night, taking the first turn for the entire journey to evade sleep for at least three hours. As she watched the two hobbits asleep in their mats, she leaned back against the rock wall behind her, and realized that this was all she was wishing for all. This was all she wanted. A real-life adventure.

"I wonder how those two twerps in Amon Hen are doing now," she muttered under her breath, precisely speaking about Cleff and Zephyr. Slightly chuckling to herself, thinking about the Cliffhanger and the well known Elven-trained archer as lower lifeforms than her regality when she reaches the Shire. But amidst her musings, she didn't pay attention to a scurry of four feet rustling above her head.

"Those thieves! Those filthy little theives! Where issss it?!! Wheeerre issssit? They stole it from us. My preciousssss."

Looking up, she was still able to muster a small "Uh-oh", before she her mouth was binded by the gray creature's filthy hands. Suddenly, to her surprise, the two hobbits sprang up. Frodo and Sam wrenches Gollum's hands off Shea's mouth and neck, and grabbing hold of each, the topple him down.

Thus, the huge hobbit wrestle began.

Gollum, estranged, breaks away from the quarrel and jumps on Frodo, despite Shea and Sam's curses. "You're not going to get your filthy little hands on my hobbit!" Shea cussed as she, along with Sam, tried to pry the creature's struggling fingers to grab The One Ring of Power... A frustrated Gollum, releases his hold of the Ringbearer, snarls at Shea's face, and hits her with his graying arm... causing her to fly and topple onto the wall of rock. She falls down the ground, unconscious.

"No!" Sam screamed out a sudden, startling Frodo. He takes his hands on Gollum, whose eyes were starting to bulge with exertion, wrestling with Frodo so he could grab the Ring. Successfully tearing Gollum and his Master apart, the creature panics and squirms in complete anger, and breaks off from Sam's clutches. He jumps on the wall and turns on Sam, jumping on his back. And when the hobbit was defenseless, he finds the time to bite the back of his neck.

"Arrrgh!" Sam squirms desperately, as a vision of an unconscious Shea was reflected in his eyes. "Let me go!" Gollum snarls, wriggles about, and clasps his arms around Sam's neck, with his legs around the hobbit's waist, forming a death grip. Sam continues to struggle fearlessly... as he begins to lose breath...

Frodo sees the commotion, gets up on his feet and unsheaths Sting.

"This is Sting!" Frodo exclaimed angrily between breaths, as he pointed it at the creature's throat. "You've seen it before, haven't you...?" Gollum began to squirm in captivity, growling miserably. "Release him, or I'll cut your throat!" With a pitiful, raspy squeal, Gollum released Sam.

Rubbing his neck, he slid between Frodo's deadly hold on Gollum and quickly ran over to the unconcious child, shaking her hard to regain her consciousness. "Shea, Shea," he whispered raspily, after his shocking encounter with the creature. "Wake up lass, or I may never be..."

With her head rested in the hobbits hands, the blonde girl opens her eyes. "Sam?" she speaks softly, as Samwise wipes away the blood on her forehead. "Is it over?" she asks. The hobbit examines her quietly, and looks over a still struggling Gollum, whom Frodo ties to a rock.

"Yes. It is over." Sam whispers back to her, as he cradled her in his arms, like a mother would to a wounded child.

A pitiful wail cracks at the dawn in Emyn Muil.

It is Gollum, held captive by two hobbits and a child, wailing and screaming as he is pulled and lagged behind Sam, the elven rope tied around his neck. Shea walks ahead, trying to see through the horizon, with her youthfully clear vision (that could challenge the elves), despite the dry blood clotting on her forehead.

"Can you see through the rocks?" Frodo asked, as Shea tiptoed over a boulder, trying to peep over the mountain's edge. "No," she answered wearily. "Its too high." Gollum wailed noisily again, that the hobbits had to cover their ears.

"It burnssss uss! It burrrrnnssss ussss! Nasty elvessss twisting it!!!" Gollum cried, tugging at the rope on his neck.

Sam, who had enough of trying to lead him, groaned and exclaimed angrily, "Quiet you! It's hopeless! Every Orc in Mordor will hear this racket! Lets tie him up and leave him!" Hearing this, Gollum dropped down on his knees, his skin bruised by the rocks underneath. "No!" he wailed. "That will kil uss! Kill usss!"

Sam growled and snapped back, "It's nothing more than you deserve!"

Frodo tapped Shea on the leg, the highest part of her tiptoeing that he could reach, signalling her to come down. Then, he turns over to Sam and looks over to a squirming Gollum, rolling painfully on the rocks. "Maybe he does deserve to die," Frodo whispered over to an exasperated Sam. "But now that I've seen him, I do pity him."

Gollum stops his tantrum, looks over to Frodo's face of sympathy and begs, "We be nice to them, if they be nice to us. Take it off us. We _swears_ to do what you wants. We _swears_!" Shea, who have already climbed down of the rocks, looked over to the hobbits and said, "He does have a point, you know. He has right too," Sam angrily tugs down the rope, and groans, "With all that he has done, he doesn't!"

Shea's look of hope dissolves into a frown. When Frodo thought this would end up into another fight again, and would just leave Gollum to distress, the girl puts a hand on Sam's shoulder and warns. "Sam." The hobbit calms down, but wouldn't loosen his grip on the rope.

Sighing in relief, Frodo turns to Gollum and says, "There is no promise you can make that I can trust." The creature wails pitifully and exclaims, "We swears to serve the master of the precioussss. We swears on, on the precioussss!" He then coughs, "_Gollum, Gollum!_"

Sam frowns, and tugs hard on the rope. "I don't believe you! Get down! Get down!" He gives a hard pull that sends Gollum flying down the ground. Horrified, Frodo grabbed Sam's arm. "Sam!" His friend turns to him and says, "He is trying to trick us! If we let him go, he'll throttle us in our sleep!"

Frodo meekly lets go of Sam's arm, and exchanges hopeless glances with a worried Shea. He then turn to Gollum with a question in his mind, that is rather considered as a statement. "You know the way to Mordor?"

Neck aching, and rejected, Gollum nods warily. "Yes..." Frodo kneels down next to Gollum and asks, "You've been there before?" Gollum nods raspily and whispers, "Yes..."

Frodo then knows all he needs to know, and realizes what he must do. He takes off the elven rope around Gollum's neck and sets him free, much to Sam's distress. "Master, what are you doing?!!" Sam exclaimed in anger, only to be held back by Shea.

Looking him in the eye, Frodo speaks, "You will lead us to the Black Gate."

Amazed by the kindness and trust showed to him by the hobbit, Gollum coughs, "this way" as he scrambles out of the rocks on fours, with the others scurrying after him.

"Frodo!" Shea's regal stature suddenly comes over her again, as she chases the fast hobbits on the way. "I don't think this is a good idea!" But with no one to hear her, she just followed without saying any other word afterwards.

**A/N: **What an annoying comeback. I've been trying to update this chapter for a year!!!


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